Audrey Windsor Bergner Research Collection ca. 1900 - 2007

Access and use

Location of collection:
Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Alexandra S. Gressitt
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Restrictions:

Collection open for research .

Terms of access:

Visual materials may require special handling.

Preferred citation:

Audrey Windsor Bergner Research Collection, ca. 1900 - 2007 (VC 0014), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Summary

Creator:
Audrey Windsor Bergner
Abstract:
This collection consists of research materials largely relating to the old plantation and historic homes in Middleburg, VA, and which served as research material for Audrey Windsor Bergner when she wrote her books, Old Plantations and Historic Homes around Middleburg, Virginia, vols. 1-3.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Audrey Windsor Bergner Research Collection, ca. 1900 - 2007 (VC 0014), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of photographs, captions for select photographs, newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, historic documents, real estate advertisements, event invitations, biographical "sketches," copies of legal documents, historical reports, timelines, event programs, wine labels, and photograph negatives largely relating to the old plantation and historic homes in Middleburg, VA, and which served as research material for Audrey Windsor Bergner when she wrote her books, Old Plantations and Historic Homes around Middleburg, Virginia, vols. 1-3. Photographs comprise the majority of the collection. Inclusive dates of the collection are 1900-2007, with the majority of photographs taken in the 1990s and 2000s. Most older documents are photocopies of originals. In many cases, properties are identified by name only; property addresses are not available.

Folders are organized alphabetically by name of house with which the material corresponds; most photographs are in VC 0014 Boxes 1 and 2, with oversized photographs and documents arranged in a parallel manner in the manuscript boxes.

Biographical / historical:

Audrey Windsor Bergner was born in 1929 and attended St. John's University, where she graduated with a major in History. She taught genealogy in California before moving to Middleburg, Virginia in 1993. She wrote "The Visitor's Guide to Middleburg" and then produced Old Plantations and Historic Homes around Middleburg, Virginia: And the Families Who Lived and Loved within Their Walls, vols. 1-3. These volumes seek to capture the society and culture that existed in "Hunt Country," focusing on the wealthy families and noble houses of Middleburg, Virginia. Bergner passed away in 2010.

Middleburg, Virginia was established in 1787 by Leven Powell. Positioned halfway between Alexandria and Winchester, Middleburg served as a rest stop for those who traveled Ashby Gap Road, now U.S. Highway 50, which connected the Potomac River with the Shenandoah Valley for trading. Middleburg served as a meeting place for both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War. After the Civil War, Middleburg fast became known as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital," due to its ideal landscape beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains and the elegant homes in which the elite hunters could reside.

Acquisition information:
Audrey Windsor Bergner, Middleburg, VA
Processing information:

Processed by Carolyn Jackson and Jeremy Hunley, 22 June 2010

Accruals:

2006.0164, 2006.0172, 2010.0211

Physical / technical requirements:

None